Ribeye steak

When we first got married, we often had beef steak for dinner. Most of the time, we got ourselves some of the cheaper cuts and it was tough, literally, eating those steaks. As we got older, we had steak less often. But once in a while, we still indulged ourselves with a good steak.

We had a nice steak dinner the other evening. We had a prosciutto ham and soya bean salad as starters. A lovely ribeye steak served with some fried spaghetti as the entree. Hmmm... The steak was juicy and tender...

Korean delicacies

Upon discovering some recipes for bulgogi and instant kimchi on the internet, Korean food is becoming commonplace at our home. Our repertoire of ingredients got a further boost when we found a supermarket along Bencoolen Street that sells authentic Korean products like the chilli for kimchi. While an instant bulgogi marinade is available there, I feel that it is not as potent as the one that my wife has concocted. A typical Korean dinner (see picture above) consists of beef or chicken bulgogi (sometimes even fish), instant kimchi and oi kimchi (my girl's favourite). Soya bean sprouts (see below) is also one of our favourites.

Sandwiches for lunch

It is a simple fare. But since I love bread, this simple sandwich lunch is a wonderful one for National Day. Honey-baked ham in a focaccia bread with alfalfa, cheddar cheese and sweet mustard accompanied by a couple of sausages. The beetroot salad is an extra.

My birthday

We usually go out for a feast during birthdays. But over the years, eating out has somewhat lost its glamour. Most of the time, I feel that I am paying a great deal of money for some mediocre food. So, for this year, I decided to celebrate my birthday with a home-cooked dinner instead.

The menu for the day...

For starters, we had escargots. This is the first time we tried escargots. We got some frozen ones from the supermarket and just grilled them according to what the box said. Well, they tasted like shellfish; not as juicy as fresh mussels. Perhaps the fresh ones might be juicier. They would a little salty and oily (from the butter).

For salad, we had fresh mozzarella cheese with garden greens sprinkled with some balsamic vinegar. Fresh mozzi on tomato was so heavenly...

The main course was veal. The meat was bought from Swiss butchery. They were wrapped with bacon for the extra flavour. The instructions were to first pan-fry them to seal in the juices and then braised them till they were soft. They were then served with noodles romanoff.

The meat was superb! So soft and juicy inside while the outer skin tasted char-grilled. The bacon gave the meat a smoky flavour and slight saltiness. I would say it is better than many of the restaurants here.

The wine for the evening was the Italian Chianti. This is our favourite red wine now! Slightly dry and extremely palatable. I found it went very well with the meat.

Finally, the birthday cake was a Oreo cheesecake from a kiosk at the basement of Plaza Singapura. Pretty good cake but nothing to shout about.

Nevertheless, this was one of my most unforgettable dinners...

Mum's cooking

This is one of my favourite dish which my late mother used to cook. Lately, my wife begins to cook it more often when my daughter falls in love with it after she tries it. It is basically a simple affair - braised chopped turnip and dried oyster with some good quality soya sauce and some sugar.

I vaguely remember that the dish is more fragrant than what my wife can produce; but I just cannot remember exactly what the taste is. Perhaps, my mum used the good old oyster sauce as well - which my wife detests.

Minced pork with black beans - This is another of my favourite dish. My wife does not like to cook it as she loathes the chore of peeling the skin of the black beans. Only recently, she finds a way to do it efficiently - something about toasting the beans and then douse them with water. In any case, as my daughter also enjoys it, my wife is less reluctant to cook it these days. Once again, the black soya sauce is the main star in the dish.

As I grow older, I am less adverse to vegetables like bitter gourd. In fact, I am beginning to enjoy them more. There are still exceptions like mustard. Anyway, bitter gourd with roast pork is something which I do not detest. My wife prefers pork rib; but I have never liked bones. Once again, the brown hue is caused by soya sauce.

Niang you tiao

These were fried-fritters stuffed with fish meat which every child loved. My wife was concerned that our health-conscious nieces would not touch them when we invited them over for dinner. But it turned out to be the hot favourite...

Chocolate cake

Recently, I have a sudden craving for chocolate cake. As I get older, I seem to crave for more unhealthy food! Anyway, I usually take a piece or two to sate my obsession and it would go away for a month or two. Each time I get myself a cake, I would take some pictures. And these are some of my collections.

A piece of chocolate cake

This cake was from Bengawan Solo - reputed for their nonya kuehs rather than cakes. It looked good on the outside but unfortunately its interior was just the normal sponge cake with little mousse. The toppings on the outside was a little buttery - much like those cakes that I had when I was a kid. Not much to shout about.	Chocolate mousse cake
I had this cake for my birthday. It was from Swiss Bakery, a supposedly European-styled bakery. I loved this cake - it was good with much cream and mousse laden on the outside, as well as inside. But it was buttery and heavy. Not very heart friendly...	Chocolate truffle cake
Stricly-speaking, this cake would not be counted as a chocolate cake. I bought this from Polar Cafe - not really reputed for their cakes - more reputed for their curry puffs. But I was pleasantly surprised by the cake. It was light and not too sweet nor buttery. I did not feel too guilty when I had my second helpings.	Blackforest cake
Well, I loved this cake though it was not a chocolate cake. It was a Japanese-styled cheesecake where the dough was fluffy and rich with cheese. More surprisingly, I bought it from Crystal Jade Cakery, a Chinese restaurant confectionery. This restaurant chain supposed to have good dim-sum and other Chinese delicacies. So, I was pleasantly surprised with this cake. Yum, yum...	Cheesecake